Paper Mario: The Color Thief
by SirKittyKat
Summary: When the Rainbow orbs fall from Star palace and the world is slowly coming to an end, only one pudgy red hero and his scared green brother (Along with a star and some other people) can save the Mushroom Kingdom and the entire universe from getting destroyed.
1. Prologue

**Paper Mario : The Color Thief**

 **Prologue**

 _Legends tell of a kingdom in the sky, where all of the world's colors are protected._

 _In this realm, many people live, people who have ascended beyond being physical beings._

 _They dedicate all of their lives to defending seven mystical artifacts:_

 _ **The Rainbow Orbs**_

 _These orbs are what give color and life to the entire universe, if only one of them was gone, the end of the world would break out._

 _Every single day, the Star People guard their precious orbs from evil, not getting or needing any thanks._

 _But what would happen if the Rainbow Orbs were stolen by a greedy monster from the world far below the Star People's?_

Twas a quiet afternoon at the Star Palace, Star People were walking back to their homes and living their lives, in the center of the huge palace, which was more along the lines of a city, was a temple which held eight pedestals, seven for each of the Rainbow Orbs and a final, taller one for the Master Orb, an object that allowed control of all the colors in existence.

"Having the task to eternally defend these things sure does get boring after a hundred or so years," One guard said to the other next to him.

"I know it's boring, but it's a job that must be done," The second guard replied, finishing his sentence in a fancy saluting stance.

Suddenly, the alarms inside of the Rainbow Temple rang and all of the guard ran into the inner sanctum to see what was happening, a tall, purple and feminine figure was floating above the orbs.

"Heheheh, you puny guards could never do anything to me, I'm not here to play around, now if you excuse me, I have a Master Orb to steal,"

In one quick swipe she did as she promised and took the Master Orb with her as she flew back off into space, presumably to her lair.

"How did she know _what_ the Master Orb was and _where_ it was?" One guard questioned, still in shock. A type of earthquake hit the Star Palace and the floor of the temple caved in, sending all of the orbs to different parts of the kingdom below.

"Oh lord, what shall we do now?!" A guard panicked, "The Rainbow Orbs are gone and the entire palace is starting to fall apart, soon, all of the colors will disappear from the world and everyone's game is over!" The same guard continued. The Elder Guardian of the Rainbow Orbs, Starnos walked down the stairs that lead to the top of the temple.

"Worry not, young Star Children, I know a way to save this world," Starnos began, "Stories tell of a great hero dressed in red that shall locate all of the orbs and save all creatures of this world, his name is…" Starnos fell asleep mid-sentence but a guard woke him up and asked what the hero's name was, "Oh yeah, the hero's name is… Something like Marty, or Mary, something like that, I haven't read my prophecy book in ages," Starnos finished his story.

"Well, where is he? _Who_ is he?" A guard asked, before Starnos could answer the questions, the palace began to fall, at the same time, a black and gray blob of energy formed where the Master Orb of the palace would've been. "TOO LATE, IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT, RUN!" The guard panicked and rushed out of the temple, falling down a pit that had formed on the floor just outside.

Meanwhile, down at the Mushroom Kingdom below, Mario and Luigi were asleep in their bunk beds when a knock at the door got Luigi to wake up.

"You've got mail, Mario bros!" Parakarry yelled out from outside of their house.

"What is it, Karry, yet another letter from the princess?" Luigi jokingly asked as he opened the front door.

"No, the sender is addressed as 'Starnos from Star Palace'" Parakarry replied.

"Star Palace, eh? I've heard of a restaurant by that name, but we never ate there," Luigi responded as he took the letter from Parakarry's hands and went back inside.

Mario asked what it was that Parakarry get them.

"It's from a guy called Starnos from Star Palace, do you know anyone like that?" Luigi said to his brother.

"I don't think I've ever heard that name before," Said Mario, Luigi opened the letter and, to both of their surprises, a small star was inside, as soon as the letter was opened, it jumped out and gasped for air.

"Thank you very much, you have no clue how bad being inside of a little paper thing for a long time is for you," The small star said, "By the way, I'm Tinkle, I'm a Star Child sent down by the Elder Guardian of Star Palace, Starnos," Tinkle introduced himself to the brothers and continued talking, "He told me to pass an important message to you guys, but I might have forgotten what it was…"

"Just try to remember it!" Mario said to Tinkle.

"Um… Oh yeah! It was something like: 'The world is ending and we need your help, Marty!' I think it was exactly that, actually," Tinkle calmly said.

"What?! The world is ending? How?" Luigi was in shock at the message.

"Apparently, some girl stole the Master Orb and the Rainbow Orbs fell down from Star Palace and now we need your help to get them back before all of the color in the universe is drained and everybody's game ends," Tinkle continued cheerfully talking about this horrible situation.

"This is horrible! We need to go tell the princess immediately to see what she can do, then we have to go find those orbs!" Luigi said and Mario agreed with a simple nod of his head.

 _Luigi joined the party!_

 _Luigi is Mario's brother, he can help him in battles and jump higher to reach other areas along the quest._

 _Tinkle joined the party!_

 _Tinkle is a young Star Person who arrived in the mail, she can "scan" an enemy or location to know everything about them, she can also dash into enemies and damage them with her pointy star limbs._

The trio ran to Princess Peach's castle and found exactly who they didn't want to meet up with, the king of Koopas, Bowser.

"Oh great, you pesky plumbers are here to stop me from kidnapping the princess again, is that right?" Bowser growled at the Mario brothers.

"Actually, we just wanted to talk to the princess, by I guess beating you once again can be helpful as well," Luigi said. Bowser breathed fire at the team, blowing Luigi away, leaving only Mario and Tinkle to fight the Koopa king, Mario and Tinkle dashed at Bowser and they began fighting.

"That's Bowser, the king of Koopas, but I'm sure you know that already, HP is 10, Attack is 2 and Defense is 5," Tinkle used her tattle ability on their enemy, "Mario! I know you beat this guy before, but just in case you're a bit rusty, I could help you out!" Tinkle offered some help and Mario accepted it.

"You should try jumping on his head, like you do with most enemies," Tinkle said and Mario followed her orders, he hopped on Bowser's head and hurt him a bit. Bowser walked over to Mario and tried to attack him with his claws.

"Jump at the right time to avoid getting hurt, Mario!" Tinkle advised and Mario obeyed, hopping over Bowser's claws before he could hurt him.

"Now it's my turn!" Tinkle said before spinning around and dashing into Bowser, defeating the Koopa king for now. Bowser was on the floor, fainted, and Peach was free, she walked up to Mario to thank him and his new friend, Tinkle, for saving her.

"Thank you so much Mario, and you too, little star, you know, I had a little friend once that looked just like you," Peach said.

"You're welcome princess, my name's Tinkle, I came here with Mario and Luigi to warn you that the entire world is in danger!" Tinkle said, Peach was surprised and asked what is it that would happen, "The Rainbow Orbs were stolen and we need to find them before the entire world is drained of color and everyone's game ends!" Tinkle explained.

"Well then, you three must hurry now! Do you know where the first orb is?" Peach asked worryingly, Mario shook his head, "Well then, do you at least have an idea of where it could be?" Peach questioned the group again.

"Maybe in the forest" Mario suggested as Luigi stepped back into the castle, so it was decided that they would check the forest for their first Rainbow Orb.

"Do you mean Boo Hoo Woods? I hope you guys make it back okay, many innocent Toads that walked into that forest haven't returned to this day," Peach said, that sentence made Luigi very scared, but Mario and Tinkle knew that they could get back and save the world once again.

The team stepped out of Toad Town and into the dark forest known as Boo Hoo Woods.

 **End of Prologue**


	2. Chapter 1 Part I

**Chapter 1: Secrets of the Forest**

Mario, Luigi and Tinkle slowly walked into Boo Hoo Woods, trying not to disturb any of the ghosts in there, they carefully explored and found many ghostly foes, such as Boos and Eeries. They eventually reached a rather large clearing with camping tents of all colors and a fire that still hadn't gone out.

"You know, if you guys need me, I'll be back home, not being part of an adventure isn't so bad after all, heheh…" Luigi said, trying to sneak back out of the forest, but before he could run back out, a bunch of Boos surrounded the trio, they were lead by a blue Boo with a top hat and a staff.

"Vat is it that you vant in our forest, oh living ones?" The blue Boo asked.

"W-We just w-w-wanted t-to find a colorful orb to s-save the world," Tinkle stuttered in fear.

"A colorful orb, eh? Like this one on my cane?" The blue Boo lifted up his cane, it had a purple orb at one end, and showed it to the trio.

"Yeah, I think it is that one, I haven't seen the Rainbow Orbs before, but I think that's the one," Tinkle said, thinking that the Boo would kindly give it to them, making their adventure easier.

"Vell, I shall not give it to you mortals," The Boo said, his army forming in front of him, "I am the great prince Boocula, heir to King Boo's fortune and throne, this orb has been in my family for generations and I vill not mindlessly give it away to anyone! If you vant my treasure, you vill have to reach me first" Boocula chuckled as he flew deeper into the forest, his Boo army staying behind and combining into a single huge Boo, who charged at the trio.

"That is Boolossus, a huge combination of at least thirty Boos, HP is 60, 2 for each Boo making it up, Attack is 5 and Defense is 10," Tinkle scanned the enemy and told the Mario bros about it.

Mario jumped on top of Boolossus' head and it split up into thirty Boos.

"Now is our chance, beat up all of the Boos!" Tinkle yelled out, Luigi jumped on a Boo and defeated it, Tinkle then defeated another Boo, between each of their attacks, a Boo attacked the trio and hurt them, Boolossus then reformed, but slightly smaller.

Boolossus flew closer to the heroes and popped like a balloon, harming them, then all of the remaining Boos fell down on top of the trio randomly, hurting them even more. Mario used a mushroom on himself and each of his friends, healing them up so they could keep fighting.

Luigi had an idea, _what if Mario and I combined our abilities to fight the enemies?_ He whispered about this to Mario and they did just that, Luigi got his arms up in the air and Tinkle magically copied Mario, all the copies hopped onto Luigi's hands, the green plumber bounced all of the copies up into the air, making them land, with great force, onto Boolossus' head. The trio and the large ghost continued to trade blows until there was just one, single Boo remaining, Mario jumped on top of him and Boolossus was finally defeated, Star points were scattered around the arena, Mario and friends collected them to be stronger for the fights ahead.

"So, Luigi, what was that about wanting to go back home and do boring stuff because this is too spooky for you? Would you like to take that back?" Tinkle taunted.

"No, that was still really dangerous, as soon as we get this orb, I'm going back home!" Luigi angrily replied.

"Whatever, let's just go on, you big green scaredy cat," Tinkle joked again, the trio then continued deeper into Boo Hoo Woods, ready for anything, they surely encountered more ghosts, Boos of all different types and sizes, Peepas and Eeries, etc. They eventually encountered a huge creepy manor, the exterior was made up of pitch black and purple wooden planks with a huge stained-glass window. Above the entrance

"I think this is King Boo's mansion," Luigi said. The group entered the large dark mansion and noticed it seemed to be much bigger on the inside, the foyer of the manor had two floors, each with three different doors, normal ones on the sides and ominous double doors in the middle, there were also disturbing portraits of ghosts that did not look like the regular friendly Boos or their "cousins". Oddly enough, the stained-glass window was nowhere to be seen.

"I think the only way forward is to check every door and explore this place," said Tinkle, much to Luigi's dismay. The only unlocked door was the middle double door on the first floor, it lead to a type of living room or study, complete with a bookshelf, a fancy desk, a fireplace and a sofa. The group looked around this room and found a small black Boo key in a drawer.

"This must be for one of the doors in the foyer, I know it!" Tinkle said, the group left the study and opened the left door on the first floor, it lead to a long corridor with an odd mist and a pair of long mirrors, one for each side of the room, Peepas were reflected in the mirrors of the corridor, despite not actually being there, and the group could faintly see a door at the other end.

It did not take long for Mario and his friends to notice that the Peepas were in the room, just invisible, the only way to see them was through the mirrors.

They reached the door at the other end, through it was another room with a big black treasure chest, a big black key was lying around in the corner, so Mario picked it up and used it on the chest, he was enveloped in a thick purple fog and a ghost began talking to him.

"Oh, so you're the little red plumber everyone is scared of, aren't you? I don't want to end your game just yet, instead, I will just cast a curse upon you that is sure to torment you for all eternity!" The ghost started speaking and bright magical dust was attracted to Mario, soon, he was able to roll up into a paper tube and roll around, he could also go out of this form at will, "Hahah! Isn't that an awful spell I put into you? Forced to turn into a cramped little tube just to progress in your pitiful adventure!" The ghost disappeared and so did his purple fog, Luigi and Tinkle were worried but Mario showed that the thing in the chest just gave him a new power and he was okay.

 _Ability gained: Mario can now roll up into a tube and roll around, this can be used to reach new locations!_

The chest erupted again, this time, a Boo key flew out and landed on Mario's head then on his hands.

The group went back to the foyer and found that the key went to he right door on the top floor, the entered and it was a trap, a large pitfall leading to a subterranean lake with a small building at the center. The building had no door, only a tight gap that only reached about 20 centimeters from the floor. Mario transformed into a tube and rolled inside, the room in there was a large wooden merry-go-round with a cheery yet creepy song playing continuously. Mario got to the center and found a pair of perfectly usable wooden hammers on a pedestal, he wanted to get out but he was stopped by an ominous voice.

"Byeheheh, you want to leave and reunite with your little friends, don't you?" A large Boo wearing a golden crown appeared behind Mario, it was King Boo, "If you want to leave this room, you'll have to play a little game that I like to call 'Whack-A-Boo', the rules are simple, hit at least 40 of my Boos with that hammer and I'll let you go, Byeheheh…" Mario accepted the game and Boos started entering the room and surrounding him.

Mario completed the challenge and escaped the room with a Boo key and his hammers, one of which he handed to Luigi.

 _The Mario bros acquired hammers!_

 _They can be used to break certain blocks._

The way into the merry-go-round room fully opened and the heroes proceeded, the spinning floor stopped and lifted them up to the room they fell from, allowing them to proceed with their quest, this new key lead them to the right door on the bottom floor, the door had ice around it, which made it hard to open. The heroes' suspicions were proven correct when they managed to open it, inside was a rather small frozen room with raw meat hanging from the walls and mushrooms in small crates. In the corner, was, oddly enough, Boocula, seemingly crying to himself.

"Who is there?" The young prince asked, he then saw the trio at the door, "Oh, vat is it that you three vant now? Still after my precious treasure for your own selfish desires?" he continued.

"Yes and no," said Tinkle, "We still need that purple orb, but we wont steal it for ourselves," he continued.

"The little star guy is right, we need that thing to save the entire world!" Luigi added.

"Is that so? Come over here then and I'll show you something," The heroes did as Boocula asked and when they were close enough, he scared them and they began fighting.


End file.
